• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

North East Connected

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Upcycled offcuts help residents with walking frames

OFFCUTS have been upcycled by WI volunteers to give care home residents a way of carrying their belongings while pushing their walking frames.

Members of the Elm Tree and Fairfield WI created bespoke bags for those living at The Beeches Care Home, on Green Lane, Stockton-on-Tees.

The group has been holding their meetings at the home, where they also attended a dementia friends session.

The session gave them the idea for the bags, which they made from pieces of leftover material from other projects.

Several members then visited the home to present residents with their patchwork creations, which hook onto their walking frames.

Christine Bell, secretary of the Elm Tree and Fairfield WI, said: “We stitch and sew items to keep us busy.

“We undertake lots of different projects and this leaves pieces of material left over. Instead of throwing the fabric away, we make them into something useful.

“It’s a bonus to find a use for something that can help someone else.  WI ethos is to promote crafts, reuse and recycle and to work with the community.

“It’s lovely to be involved with The Beeches.”

After receiving her bag, resident Lena Evenden said: “What a lovely bag. It’s very kind of them to give it to me.”

Jessica Brown, home manager of The Beeches Care Home, said: “The walking frame bags look amazing and are incredibly useful to the residents.

“They are already putting them to good use, filling them with knick-knacks, snacks and items of personal or sentimental value they like to keep with them.

“We have been more than happy to host the Elm Tree and Fairfield WI meetings.

“We’re always looking to build links with the local community and this is a great example of how that benefits both the WI members and our residents.”